I recently did an interview where I was asked what I considered were the greatest threats to SR users. I gave the usual answers, but later I realised that there was one I missed. This post, and StExo's sticky analysis, confirm it.
When SR began, it was small and only the most tech-savvy and security-conscious people accessed it. But in the past two years, it has been given so much mainstream media (yes, I realise that includes some of my articles) and has become so simple to access, looks so professional and is discussed so openly, I think a bunch of people honestly believe they're not doing anything "that" illegal. After all, if it were that bad, it wouldn't be so easy to do, right? It's a bit like downloading stuff from Pirate Bay - technically you can go to jail for it, but how often does that happen, right?
Either that, or people are deluded that it is "click-and-go" safe and they don't REALLY need to go to the extra effort to learn PGP or take other precautions that were once no-brainers. After all, if it were dangerous, heaps more people would have been caught. LE are powerless, right? You can taunt them and there's nothing they can do!
But drug use is much less accepted by the mainstream majority than pirating the odd movie. And using the site is only 'safe' when all of the anonymity precautions are rigorously adhered to. And whilst LE may direct resources elsewhere when a market is operating quietly and off the radar, they will throw a ton at it if you start sticking your finger up at them.
I think we will be seeing a lot more arrests due to these two types of complacency from users. Or the security-conscious will simply migrate somewhere safer.
Anyone who thinks our enemies are sitting idly by twiddling their thumbs totally befuddled about what to do re SR is living in a fantasy world. This place is a massive fuck you to the systems of coercion and control so poking the bear is definitely NOT a good idea.
With regards to people finding this place and having absolutely ZERO consideration for their personal safety, well all I can say is that I have been absolutely flabbergasted by some of the things I have seen in my time here.
The saying "just because you can doesn't mean you should" has never rung more true in the sense of downloading Tor and finding a URL. There have been some high profile cases of people busted in AU for SR related activity but in reality it was their IRL activities that brought them to the attention of LEO.
I fear we will be seeing a lot more cases of people coming into contact with the CJS as so many people treat this place like eBay doing incredible things like creating market site accounts under their real name and/or user names they use for other internet accounts that pop up in a Google searches.
... and that's just for starters... the list just gets scarier as demonstrated in StExo's thread so I'll leave it there for now.
Show Posts
